Wonderwall
by Leigh.Aviator
Summary: Right after MR2. Max is STILL supposed to save the world...but how? Includes new skills, Fax, of course, & the new romance everyone seems to love now. I've got a soundtrack to match my story. R&R!
1. Security Blanket

A/N: This is supposed so be so catchy & welcoming, but I'm sure it won't be. If you're reading this story, (which, obviously, you are) THANK YOU. Thank you so much. Please review, whether you like or dislike. My name is Leigh, & I'm a first to or any fan fiction publishing, for that matter. I usually keep this stuff to myself, but I've been inspired to come out with it & publish in the past few months. _Yes,_ of course there will be Fax. I'm also trying new things that I haven't read before. These are all MY ideas. So if for some reason we have the same story ideas, I honestly have never stolen a thing from anyone else. & for the most part, I don't write like anyone else. I'm not trying to. I'm _me. _I call this story Wonderwall, & if you haven't heard the song by Oasis, you should go check up on it NOW. It's wonderful. I base a lot of my writing on music/particular songs I've heard. I'm gathering up a playlist for this fanfic, & will post it soon, if it is wanted.

I'm trying to put some sort of quote/song lyrics/special something in an author's note at the beginnning and/or end of each chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own Maximum Ride and/or any of it's characters, James Patterson does.

I do, however own this story, so don't jack it.

Chapter 1 

I swished the last part of my warm Coke in my can absentmindedly and glanced over at the flock sleeping. Gazzy was lying flat on his back, as usual, mouth wide open. Iggy's tall frame was lying between Gazzy and Nudge. His body was slightly turned, and she was curled against his bony side. Angel and Total (and Celeste) had become one large ball, sleeping cozily. Oh, I needed sleep _so_ bad.

"Go," Fang gestured towards them, reading my mind as he annoyingly somehow does from time to time. "I know you're wiped. I'll take first watch."

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine," I lied. He just gave me that don't-even-try-it look. "Really, I am," I persisted.

He slid a little closer to where I sat. "The tank?" he asked quietly.

I nodded ever so slightly. "It's just," I began slowly, "the last time I went to sleep, I woke up with tape over my mouth; wrists tied. And I was floating in gross fluid. Alone."

Suddenly, Iggy stirred, waking lightly. He stood silently, walking over to us, brushing Fang's feathers and my arm.

"Why're you two still up? Go to bed. I've got the post."

"Ig," I protested, "You've gotten like, an hour of sleep."

"Yeah, and God only knows what all you've done. I think you need a little more sleep than I do. Go, Max," he said, jacking a thumb over his shoulder.

"C'mon." Fang gently pulled on my elbow. I lay down, stuffing my sweatshirt under my head; Fang did the same. I turned to face him, beginning to talk, just to do something other than close my eyes.

Okay, okay. Maybe I was just a little scared. More skiddish than scared.

"Go to sleep, Max. You don't need to worry about it."

Sighing lightly, I rolled over. Suddenly, I felt a warm, thin arm slip over me. Fang was pulling me close to his side, leaning over to whisper in my ear, "Nothing is going to happen. I _won't_ let anything happen to you."

I leaned back so my eyes could meet his. I smiled, and they lit up.

& I swear, my heart flopped over in it's chest.

A/N: Like? Review 3

Peace&Love.


	2. Final Destination

"Because maybe,

you're gonna be the one that saves me,

& after all,

you're my **wonderwall."**

Chapter 2 

The next morning I woke, my body as stiff as a board. Fang dropped a McGriddle in my lap.

"Merry Christmas."

Restaurant food? Wow. Living high on the hog now, aren't we? I mean, it's fast food, but it's restaurant food nonetheless.

"I told you to go on earlier," Iggy doted. "You where out like a light."

I looked over at Fang, who was already glancing over in my direction. He averted his eyes quickly.

"And just how did you know I was out like a light, hmmm? I wish you could see me rolling my eyes at you, kid," I replied, ruffling Iggy's hair.

"Max?" Angel sat squarely in my lap. "Are you sure you're ok?"

"Of course sweetie; I'm fine," I answered, my heart swelling. I planted a kiss on top of her soft blonde curls. "Thank you for asking me." Angel smiled, leaning in close to my ear.

"I wish I could be like you Max. You're so big and brave." My mind thought back to her request on being the leader, wondering if this was a mind-control exercise. "I love you and I'm so glad you're okay." But when I looked down at her trusting blue eyes before she threw her pencil-thin arms around my neck, I knew she was being honest. It was all I could do to keep tears from overflowing the brims of my eyes. I knew what went on inside that little head. Well, most of the time anyway.

"So," the Gasman asked, licking biscuit crumbs off his fingers, "where to?"

Ah. The dreaded question.

"C'mon Fang! Why can't I have them now? Just one?" Nudge's complaints broke my train of thought.

"Well, they're kinda for later. You eat them now and you'll be starved when everyone's eating theirs'. Then you'll be bugging me for mine. That ain't happenin' kiddo." I saw he had a small bag of cookies in his hand, packing them in them in the backpack. Nudge crossed her arms of her skinny chest, staring hard at Fang.

"She's trying to look like you," Angel whispered, giggling. "You know, the way you look at Fang when you're arguing and you know you're going to win." I laughed. Giving him that look was always fun. Most of the time, he caved. It didn't seem like it, but inwardly I knew he was caving.

I looked back at that small bag, not out of hunger, but from something else.

"West," I answered, promptly standing up and brushing crumbs from my jeans.

"Where?" Iggy asked.

"I have no idea," I replied, almost totally honest.

We were all packed, and I watched my flock leap into the air, one at a time. At last, I jumped up after Iggy, hovering in the air for a second before unfurling my wings. We flew for hours, taking pit stops here and there for the usual ten million "I'm hungry"s and "I have to pee"s. But in all actuality, I was enjoying every minute of it, as long as my flock was safe. Even when Gazzy reported that now he had to go, though we had just taken off after one of Angel's emergency breaks.

During one of those "emergency" pit stops to a gas station for bathroom breaks, refreshments, etc., I was looking for a drink in front of the coolers when I heard a small shriek from inside the bathroom. It was Nudge. I whipped down the little hallway until I was in front of the door.

"Nudge...Nudge! Open the door!"

It cracked open. "Oh my gosh, Max! Come here...I think there's something wrong."

My heart dropped to my stomach...not again. I stepped inside the small bathroom, closing the door behind me. "What's wrong?"

"Well, since yesterday, I've been having like, stomach pains, you know? Not bad but just, achey. But it's gotten worse today," she said brokenly, making my heart ache. Why was she crying? I reached down to stroke her hair as she finished. "But...but now...I'm bleeding!" she finished in a whisper. Suddenly, I jerked my head up. Oh gosh...it was all I could do not to let a laugh escape my lips. "Oh honey..." I breathed a huge sigh of relief, then inwardly punched myself as a laugh leaped from my lips. "There's nothing wrong. This is normal." I had noticed she's been a little more cranky in the past few days. "Don't cry, sweetie; I'll explain it all later. This is perfectly okay. Just stay right here, I'll be right back." A gas station had to have tampons, right?

After a long discussion in the bathroom, a shocked, slightly embarrassed Nudge and I emerged from the tiny bathroom to our waiting flock. "Don't tell anybody!" Nudge hissed in my ear. "Not even Fang!"

"But they're probably worried about what happened to you. I won't tell anyone but him, okay?"

"Maaaaxxxx! This is so embarrassing! Ughhh I _hate_ being a girl!"

I chuckled to myself. "Me too sweetie, me too."

"What's up?" Of course, Fang wanted to know.

"Our little motormouth has become a woman," I replied, all smiles.

"Wha--?" His faced turned red as the realization came to him. "Oh. Girl stuff. Yeah."

I burst out laughing.

After we had been heading west for almost a day, Fang glided up beside me, staying silent for a long time. Finally he spoke; "So, ah...where are we going?" "West?" I answered with a smile. "I've got a place in mind." He gave me a slightly confused look.

Okay, so you get the mental picture that I'm in good spirits, everyone is perfectly fine and happy, correct? Good. But then again, you also know that I can't have five minutes of good, pure happiness to myself, can I? No.

It hit me like a ton of bricks; worse than before. My head felt as if it had exploded, because I was completely surprised to reach for my head and feel it still intact. I screamed, my wings going numb. I wondered vaguely if I was having a heart attack; but no, dying would be too easy. Images of the School flashed over and over again in my head, like a recurring nightmare. I only fell for a minute or two before I felt a pair of warm arms around me, lifting me up slightly. "Down!" Fang yelled to the flock, even though his voice seemed to be miles and miles away. He landed lightly, sitting right where he touched down, holding me close to his chest.

"Max; Max, listen to me," spoke his strong, soft voice near my ear. "Can you understand me?"

I whimpered a yes, my entire body now shaking violently. I clutched my head so hard, my fingernails broke the skin on my scalp and I felt the wetness of blood on my fingertips.

"I'm trying to talk you through this Max. Come on, focus on my voice. You can beat this." I tried, tried so hard to hear his gentle voice over the triumphant pounding of blood in my head. "Try looking at me, Max. Try. Focus on us. Focus on the flock. We're all here, Max," he continued whispering, now gently stroking my hair. I pried my eyes open, barely slits, clenching my teeth together. I grabbed a fistful of the cloth from his t-shirt, clinging to him for dear life, pressing my aching head into his chest. Tears streamed out of my eyes, and I vaguely heard myself whimpering. Fang continued talking; the pain slowly ebbing away with every word he said. I finally fell limp; my eyes fluttering open to see the whole flock standing over me. I even saw a look of pure grief in Iggy's sightless eyes.

"Max," Gazzy began, cautiously stroking my hair like he'd seen Fang do, "we won't complain if you want a pit stop now; promise." I smiled weakly.

And suddenly, to my horror, Angel burst into tears, collecting herself on my chest. Though she was the youngest, Angel rarely cried. Only when she was in total fear of something.

"Sweetie," I said, slowly pulling myself into a sitting position, despite my still throbbing head, and wrapping my arms around her, "it's okay; there's nothing to be afraid of. What's wrong?"

"I-I'm so scared s-s-something will happen to yo-ou," she sputtered out, tears streaming down her cheeks.

I frowned up at Fang. She was really scared; the fright in her eyes worried me. Fang rubbed my back lightly, then stood up. "You okay?" he asked, his voice now barely a breath. He coughed, giving his head a slight shake, as if to clear it. He walked toward the edge of the cliff we'd landed on, then turned to look at me. "I'll be back," he mouthed, leaping off. I watched him soar upwards, then gradually lose altitude. So much that I stood, quickly walking over to the edge until I could see him again. He was still flying; just slowly. I stood there for awhile, watching him, making sure he wouldn't suddenly drop like a rock, like he'd done when I'd thought we'd lost him. I shook the thoughts from my head. I finally moved from my spot when I saw him turn back up towards where the flock and I were still waiting; a tired and pained look on his face. I sat up against a tree, waiting for Fang to land. Iggy came up beside me, softly elbowing my side.

"You okay?"

"Yeah; yeah, I'm fine. Little headache."

He snorted.

"What's up with Fang?" he asked.

I leaned against him so he could feel me shrug. "He looks..." I couldn't describe it.

"In pain?"

"Yeah...he does." I agreed, facing Iggy.

"But I don't think we should mention it unless he brings it up," Iggy added.

"Yeah, or unless it seems to get worse."

"I'll check him out." He rose as he sensed Fang landing back on the cliff.

I turned to tell the flock I thought this was as good a place as any to crash for the night. But when I looked over, Nudge, Angel, and Gazzy were all dead to the world. But then again, who could blame them? They weren't even teenagers yet and we had flown from Florida to the Texas border.

I stretched out and propped myself up beside an oak tree, watching Fang and Iggy talk quietly over near the edge of the cliff. I saw Iggy getting up, nudging Fang in the shoulder as he rose, then walking back over to where I sat. He laid down next to Nudge and Gazzy, cushioning his head with his crumpled windbreaker. He turned in my direction, his voice barely audible; "Well, something's up, but I didn't get nothin' out of him."

When I sighed, he shook his head. "He'll open to _you_," he replied in a "duh" voice, rolling over. Mmmm-kay; thanks for the cue Ig. After staying put for a moment or two, I finally got to my feet and walked over, sitting down beside Fang on the edge of the cliff; my feet dangling. We sat silently for a long time, until at last I tapped his foot with my own, trying to catch his attention. He turned his head slightly, raising his eyebrows but still not catching my gaze, as if to say, _yeah_?

"What's up?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Nothin' much," he returned evenly.

I sighed lightly. "Look, I don't know what you did, but when you talked to me, it helped. The more you did it, the less pain I felt." I knew something had changed between us since that day on the beach; he knew it as well as I did. We had gotten closer; much closer. "Thank you," I said quietly, and he suddenly found new interest in his Converses. I continued to look at him, wanting to ask why he looked like he was in pain when he flew off. But I held my tongue, hoping he would read my mind. He eventually looked up at me.

"I just needed a breather, that's all," he said quietly.

"Bull."

"I.." he began, stopped, then started again. "I was trying to get your mind off the pain, or whatever you were seeing, by getting you to focus on something else. I just...the others can't stand to see you in pain, Max." He paused again, and I kept quiet, taking in the look on his face. "But, the more I talked, the more I felt. I felt that pain, Max. When you gave it up, it came to me. I'm sure it wasn't nearly as bad but, it kinda melted on me." He finally looked up, his dark eyes wide open. My mouth fell open a little.

"I think," I began, a slight smile on my face, "that you have a new skill."

We stared ahead for awhile. "But can you take other people's pain too? Or just mine?" I asked.

He shrugged. "Dunno."

After another silent moment, I stood.

"'Night, Superman." I grinned over my shoulder.

He got up silently and came up, whispering mischievously in my ear, "You sure you don't need a security blanket tonight?" I turned on my heel, heat rising in my face. I shoved him hard, even though he only staggered back a step, laughing. I slumped back down against my tree, scowling. He knelt in front of me and stuck out his left fist.

"Looks like the others crashed. Will you at least stack with me?"

I narrowed my eyes, putting my fist on top of his. We tapped the backs of each others' hands. Then, rising, his eyes met mine for a second.

"'Night Maximum."

A/N: Yes, I know they don't wear designer things. But I made the executive decision that Fang needed Converses. It suits him. & no, that doesn't mean I'm labeling him "emo." When I see Fang in my head, I just picture black high-tops on his feet.

Opening lyrics: from "Wonderwall" by Oasis


	3. Sneak

Can you hear me

Hear me screaming

Breaking in the muted skies?

This thunder hear

like bombs beating

Echoing a thousand miles.

Mine is your's & your's is mine.

There is no divide.

In your honor

I would die tonight.

Mine is your's & your's is mine.

I will sacrifice

In your honor

I would die tonight,

for you to feel alive.

Can you feel me,

feel me breathing

One last breath before I close my eyes.

This suffering

For receiving

Deliver me into the other side.

For you to feel alive.

Chapter 3 

I was shaken awake around four for my shift.

Or at least, that's what I thought it was for.

The gentle shaking on my shoulder turned into rough grip on my throat as I opened my eyes and realized Ari was standing over me.

"Good morning Maxie," he smiled foully down at me.

I struggled against his grasp. "You know I hate it when you call me that," I snarled at him.

He laughed, "Which is why I always say it, stupid." He promptly sat on my chest, and I looked around; my whole flock was pinned around me. I almost smiled at the fact that it took three erasers to hold Fang, who was actually still, watching Ari.

"So, what is it now? Same old, same old? Don't you get tired of playing fetch for daddy?" I spat in his face.

His face contorted with rage, and he leaned down, intending to snarl some lame comeback in my face.

Which I took as an opportunity to ram my forehead into his face.

Let the games begin. I thought.

Fang shoved his elbows in two of the Erasers stomachs, then swung around to knock the third down with a roundhouse kick to the chest. He looked around, making sure no one was in serious trouble. Iggy was just pulling his hand out of his boxers behind his back, slowly backing towards the edge of the cliff. Fang watched as he opened his hand & lit one of his many hand-held explosives. He laughed as he nailed one of his three Erasers in the face. Max still didn't know Iggy kept his secret stash in his shorts. He turned back to these goons, busting ones eardrums and pushing him off the side of the cliff. He heard two simultaneous screams as Angel talked one into repeatedly slamming its head into the ground while Iggy blew up another. Gazzy was busting eardrums left and right; his favorite move. Nudge would come along behind him, kicking the screaming Erasers until they were deposited over the edge.

He looked for Max, knowing Ari would still be in her face.

I glanced around in the split second I had before I took another blow from Ari. Most of the Erasers were gone, only a few here and there were scattered and wounded around the area. A sharp cuff over the head snapped me back to Ari.

He swung again and I leaned back, Matrix style.

"Is that all you've got, dog boy?" I smiled bitterly, cracking his kneecap.

He doubled over, and I dropped an elbow on the base of his spine, right below his skull.

"What, didn't eat your Wheaties this morning?" I was in a smack-talking mood.

I mean, why shouldn't I be? They were running away (as usual), and none of us were hurt, right?

Ari looked up, slightly dazed, with a wicked smile. "Kudos for that one, Max." He coughed, then rubbed his neck. "We'll be back, _sweetie_," he snarled, blowing me a kiss.

Ew.

I turned back to my flock, ready for plans on the next destination and high fives.

Wrong. Fang, Iggy, Nudge, and Angel were gathered around Gazzy's limp body.


	4. Licking your Wounds

We're turning our clocks back

We're just never ourselves.

So go with the flow

Just relax; _just relax._

You never feel the jet lag

Unless you're trying to fit in.

**Face it.**

This is what we're up, up against,

you're waiting.

And every minute is a minute away.

Chapter Four

My heart lept to my throat.

_Not Gazzy. _

I literally flew to them, skidding down on my knees. "What happened?"

Nudge, who had his left hand clutched tightly between two of her own, answered, "We were kinda working as a team, you know? He was flying over their heads, teasing them, so they wouldn't see me. Then I'd come up behind them and push 'em off the ledge, or get in a couple good hits or something. And he had just passed one off to me, and I kicked him hard in the back, you know? And the Eraser fell off over the cliff. But when I turned around, one of them had leaped up and grabbed Gazzy right out of the air."

"By the time we got rid of the Erasers and got to him, he was out cold," Fang finished.

Iggy brushed his sensitive fingers over and over Gazzy's body, searching for wounds. I brushed my hand over his young face, through his blood-caked blonde hair.

"There's a bad gash here," Iggy pointed to the left side of Gazzy's skull, "and he's got a couple of bad claw-marks here." He pulled up a bloodstained sleeve and revealed four jagged marks on Gazzy's shoulder. Fang slowly cut away the shirt so we wouldn't jar his head. Nudge and I wrapped his head and shoulder wounds carefully with gauze; they weren't bleeding terribly, but why was he still unconscious?

"Angel, you're not getting anything from him are you?" I asked without looking at her, but when I did, I saw her curled up in a tight ball beside him, her eyes squeezed closed so tightly they were watering.

After a moment, she sat up, looking defeated. "I can hear something, but only when I try really hard. It's like whispering. I'm really trying Max, but I just can't hear it..." She looked down at Gazzy, her eyes big.

"Sweetie, It's okay; we know you're trying. He'll be all right." I moved over to where Angel was and put my arms around her, then looked over at Fang. He was watching me, and once I looked up, his eyes flickered back down to Gazzy.

"What're we gonna do, Max?" Nudge asked, her big brown eyes staring up at me.

I clutched my hands into tight fists to keep them from shaking. I had always managed to keep the little ones unharmed. Well, except for that one time...

Angel, Gazzy, Nudge, even Iggy, for the most part, seemed to wiggle away unscathed. I felt that all-too-familiar wave of nausea and bitter helplessness that came with these accidents. Injury followed Fang and I around like a lost puppy, but the younger set was a different story.

I took a deep breath, trying to think all this over. Angel was still seated at Gazzy's head, her legs pulled up to her chest. She absentmindedly stroked Total, whose head rested on Gazzy's limp hand. Iggy simply sat, long legs crossed Indian-style, 'staring' down at his hands. He turned his head in my direction. "Why can't we have any useful powers?" he asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Defeated, I turned to Fang. But to my surprise, he sat with his eyes closed, open palms lightly rubbing his legs. He blew out a light breath as his eyes flickered open. Then, he slowly leaned forward and cupped his right hand around the back of Gazzy's head, his eyes now focused. No one seemed to notice he was actually doing something, though Fang rarely reached out to touch someone over comfort. I kept my eyes on his face, watching his dark eyes narrow, his lips purse together in determination. Suddenly, Angel's blonde head popped up.

"I hear something," she whispered. "Iggy, do you hear it?"

"_No_." He snapped his reply back, forgetting not to be sharp. "No Ange, I don't hear anything. Why?" he asked, softer this time.

"I hear whispering, but it's different..." she stopped again to listen.

"Fang...what're you--?" Nudge began, but I held up a hand to quiet her.

I signed to Nudge and Angel that I'd explain in a minute, and then repeated the phrase into the palm of Iggy's hand.

Now more than ever, I yearned for Angel's power, wondering if she could hear Fang in Gazzy's head.

After a few terrifyingly long & silent minutes, Fang fully opened his eyes, his breaths coming in soft, shallow gasps. A disgusted look washed over his face as he shook his head and started to stand up.

I had an unexpectedly strong urge to reach out and grab his hand, to do something to comfort him.

Maybe his skill didn't work the way we thought it did.

But if that was true, did it work only for me?

Or were we just imagining that Fang could take my pain away?

A/N: Reviews are so very, _very_ nice :)

& in case you're wondering, the "signing" Max is doing to Nudge & Angel, & also in the palm of Iggy's hand is sign language. I believe they use it in the first book. I'm not exactly sure where, but I do remember Fang giving Max the finger. :D how lovely.

The opening song is "Up Against (Blackout)" by Taking Back Sunday.


	5. On my Shoulders

He bends & he breaks

If he gives they will take away

His passion, his pain, his grace.

He exhales,

a thousand black flowers explode

into butterflies as they're away

Rip them out, take them

burn the coals as they crush & leave nothing

that resembles the soul of a man

see him _numb_, see him _crushed_

Chapter Five

Fang took a few steps toward the edge of the cliff, running a hand through his jet black hair. I watched as his wings untucked; Fang always took to the skies to let go. He turned back to look at me. He didn't have to say a word; I knew what he was doing. But just as his gaze focused back on the open air,

I felt the tickle of feather-soft hair against my bare knee.

"Gazzy!" Angel shrieked, nestling her head into his chest.

He blinked and tried to sit up. "Wha'?"

"Oh gosh." I breathed, relief washing over me like a massive tidal wave. I immediately pulled Gazzy into my lap like I used to when he was small.

Yes, he was only eight, and still technically a "child," but honestly, he had been forced to grow up fast. Too fast.

We all had.

He laid his head on my chest as I wrapped my arms tightly around him. Iggy's face was split into the widest grin I'd ever seen. Nudge was bouncing up and down with Total like a pinball. Fang came over and sat down beside me, checking Gazzy out. I looked at him, feeling a blush creep into my cheeks at the obvious happiness and relief in his dark eyes.

"You all right, man?"

"Yeah," Gazzy replied quietly. His tough-boy front had melted, for now anyways.

"Max, what happened?" he whispered.

"The Erasers got ahold of you. You were out cold, and scared us half to death." I let out a breath. "But you're okay now, and that's all that matters," I added, giving him another quick squeeze. My eyes caught a brief glance at Fang's arm; every vein was visible, every muscle taut. I looked down and saw him gripping the strap of a backpack so hard I was certain it would disinagrate right there in his hand.

The pain was hitting him. Before I could look him in the eyes, he stood up, quickly unfurling his wings.

"Fang, don't." I called after him, snagging the hem of his jeans.

He turned, his lips pursed together. He was in serious pain, but what if he flew off and couldn't push it back down? If he was feeling the pain of a concussion (& who knows what else), what if he passed out? He could catch me, but could I catch him?

"I've got to do something, Max," he replied tightly through his teeth. I opened my mouth to argue, then though better of it.

"Go," I whispered, looking down.

"You sure?" His eyes narrowed.

"Go."

Who was I to tell him how to deal with overwhelming amounts of pain?

He hesitated, then jumped off the cliff.

"Max, what's going on?" Gazzy asked from my lap.

I waited until I could be completely sure Fang was keeping steady alititude until I answered him.

The younger set and Iggy gathered around me. "We think," I began, "that Fang has a new skill."

Nudge's eyes got huge. Then she squealed out happily, "Oh my gosh! Seriously?! What is it, Max? What is it?!"

One corner of Iggy's mouth turned up. "He can take pain away, can't he?"

I nodded. "That's why you heard another voice in Gazzy's head, Angel. You were hearing Fang."

"So Fang healed me?" Gazzy asked.

"No, he didn't heal you externally, he just made the pain easier to bear. It must've made you come to."

"You've got a gash on your head and a couple on your shoulder. D'you feel them?" Iggy asked him.

Gazzy placed a hand on his head. "Nope. It hurts when I touch it and stuff, but not bad." Then he asked, "So Fang is like, a human pain killer?"

I shrugged. "Guess so. Or maybe just a human-avian pain killer. We don't really know." I stopped and considered it for a second, then changed my words.

"Well, actually, he's not a pain killer. Because he gets the pain. Remember my brain attack? When he was talking to me? Somehow by making some sort of connection with the person--by talking or touching, I don't really know which--he takes the pain away from the person and puts it on himself. So that day, he took my pain. And now he's got yours."

I stood back up to look for him. He was banking about forty feet northeast of where I was standing, headed back toward us.

I waited until he'd landed beside me before I moved.

"You okay?" I asked, visually looking him over.

He nodded nonchalantly, looking at his watch. "It's about quarter after six. You want to go hunt for some grub?"

I paused, making sure he was really okay and not lying through his teeth. I shook my head. He continued to confuse the living snot out of me.

"Sure."

A/N: Reviews 3

Opening lyrics: from "The Theft" by Atreyu.


	6. Shadow

"Comin' down the world turned over,  
And **angels** fall without you there.  
And I go on as you get colder,  
Or are you _someone's_ prayer.

You know the lies they always told you.  
And the _love_ you never knew.  
What's the things they never showed you,  
That swallow the light from the sun. Inside your room, yeah…"

Chapter Six

We fell off the cliff like six fighter jets; Iggy in the front & me bringing up the rear. I heard him rambling to the Gasman about those colored sulfur-streaks again. He was just glad to have his best friend back.

Nudge & Angel were playing Swan Lake, & I kept having to look back & remind them to keep up instead of spinning through the air in their imaginary tutus.

And they kept playing, until Nudge decided she wanted to play tag, but that only lasted for a short minute. We heard she and Angel gently arguing until suddenly, continuing the Swan Lake game seemed like a fabulous idea to Nudge.

Too fabulous.

Fang and I turned our attention back to Angel, who, of course, had a glowing smile and an innocent look in her eyes.

I glared at her. "_Angel_..."

She caught my gaze & her blonde head dropped. "Sorry Max."

"Apologize to Nudge, not me."

"Sorry Nudge. We can play tag if you want."

Nudge just looked confused.

I looked back at Fang, who was trying unsuccessfully to hide a grin.

I rolled my eyes at him.

"So," he began after another peaceful silence, "still keeping this magic destination a secret?"

I nodded, a mischievous smirk on my face. "Guess you'll have to figure it out yourself, Mr. Mysterious."

He brought his eyebrows together in a 'okay, you're definitely weird' face.

With a little laugh, I soared up to catch a warm updraft, riding it for awhile.

Fang caught up with me in no time.

"Ella's."

He threw out that one word & then dive-bombed. "C'mon guys, I see a little restaurant down there," he called to the flock.

He looked back up just in time to catch my scowl.

We ate enough to feed a small army, as usual. Thankfully, I didn't have to dump any sort of oil and/or sauce on anyone's head, Fang didn't have to bust through a roof, and Gazzy got his own dessert instead of having to steal someone else's on his way out.

AND we left when we were finished eating, instead of when the erasers showed up.

AND thankfully, we found a cozy little abandoned ranch house to stay in for the night. It had two upstairs bedrooms, but we dumped the dusty suites for a little flock-pile in front of the huge glass French doors that looked out onto a second-story balcony. Perfect for easy lookout/quick escape.

Everyone else fell out pretty quickly, except for me, of course.

Every time I closed my eyes all I could see was Ari snarling in my face, pinning my entire body down with his own, as the rest of his little squad flung the rest of the flock here or there.

Once, Iggy was being held down with a two-foot long knife blade held to his throat. I woke in a cold sweat just as it entered his trachea.

In another dream, Angel was held from all sides, even by her hair, & was strangled to death. I woke up with the image of her purple face and dead eyes burned into my brain.

In another, Gazzy was beaten over the head, and thrown over the cliff, his wings taped together.

After that, Nudge's neck was simply snapped; one quick flick of an eraser's wrist.

The dream that held Fang's fate came last. Probably because it was the worst.

He was chained somehow to one of the trees we had slept under, and three other Erasers now held me down instead of Ari himself. He was pacing back in forth in front of Fang, teasing him. I could never make out what either of them were saying, however Fang always seemed to have short comebacks that made Ari spit in his face or reach out to cuff him upside the head.

One such remark made a wicked smile spread across his ugly, morphed face. He plunged his hand into his jacket and pulled out something small that I couldn't quite make out.

I struggled against my restrainers, squinting my eyes to see what was in his hand.

& let out a bloodcurdling scream as I saw what it was.

A lighter.

Luckly, I made none of these noises in the outside world, so my bloodcurdling scream was heard only by me, and the Voice, wherever it had run off to lately. Not that I was complaining.

Needless to say, I was already awake when Iggy's shift ended and mine began, trying to keep my entire body from shaking. He gave me a funny look as I stared at his throat on my way out, but he went on to bed. I walked out onto the huge balcony, enjoying the crisp, cool air, and the extended silence. My watch had lasted for about an hour when I heard an almost inaudible creak behind me. I spun around, my heart racing, fists clenched.

"Chill, it's just me."

Fang.

"Oh." I sighed, turning back around. "What're you doing up?"

He came over to sit beside me on the balcony rail. "Dunno. Couldn't sleep."

"Me neither."

"Nightmares?"

I almost laughed. "Yeah. How'd you know?"

He shrugged. "Lucky guess."

Something in his voice told me he was lying through his teeth.

I turned my head slowly to look at him. "Bull."

Most people argue when they're caught lying. Not Fang. If I catch him, he usually goes ahead to drop the real bomb.

"I heard you mumbling while I was on watch. I got up and walked over to where you were at & I saw you shaking. I started to wake you up, but about time I got close enough, you opened your eyes."

"Oh." I paused for a second, contimplating on whether to ask him or not. "I know this probably sounds stupid but, let me see your wings," I asked quietly.

Yeah, I was paranoid. But who wouldn't be?

He slowly stretched his left one out without question so I could examine it. I grasped it gently along the top primary wing bone, stroking the perfectly smooth black feathers.

"I'm fine, Max. He hasn't been back."

My gaze jerked to his face. "What?"

"Look, just let me explain first, and don't get mad; okay?"

What fresh hell?

"Okay…" I agreed rather warily.

"I know this is out of left field. And I probably—no, definitely--should have told you sooner. But ever since we were in New York, I can…I can see your dreams."

Well this was news. "Huh? As in like, a play by play of what I'm dreaming?"

He nodded, his gaze forward towards the open sky. "It's not like Angel's mind-reading skill or anything. I'll just look at you while you're sleeping and see your dream."

Fighting down embarrassment, I focused on my anger. "Why didn't you tell me?!"

"I told you not to get mad."

"I never said I wouldn't."

"Look, I just never told you because until a couple weeks ago, I never realized it was actually legitimate. And I didn't think it really served any important purpose, okay? What good will seeing your dreams do me? Or the flock, for that matter?"

I shrugged, now at a loss of words.

"Which ones did you see?" I asked quietly. "There were five of them."

"The first one I saw was Iggy's. Then I saw Angel's. I think I may've been asleep during Nudge's and Gazzy's, but I heard you when you were dreaming mine."

I was suddenly thankful for the dark as a slow blush crept into my cheeks.

"Did you see the whole thing?"

"Mostly you realizing he had a lighter. & the end."

An uncontrollable shudder flashed through my body. As long as I live, I don't think I'll ever be able to shake that picture from my memory.

Fang's finger brushed the back of my hand lightly.

"It's okay," he replied, not looking at me. "'S just a dream."

I nodded, actually feeling a little better.

We sat in silence for a long time, watching the sun paint its magnificent color scheme onto the fading blue-black of the night sky.

"You want to head out toward Ella's today?"

"Yeah; she lives on the outskirts of Phoenix," I replied, thankful of a change of subject. "How long d'you think it'll take to get there?"

Fang opened his mouth to answer, but was cut off abruptly.

"Max! Maaaaaax! Fang! Fang? Faaaaaaaaaaang!"

A corner of Fang's mouth turned up into a smirk. "Looks like Nudge is awake."

"Geez Nudge! Do you have to yell?!"

"& Iggy," I added, smiling.

"Well, where's Fang and Max?! What if something's happened to them?!"

"They're probably right in front of you," Iggy grumbled, curling back up into a ball. "Pull back the freaking curtain, Nudge."

We walked back through the doors as she reached for the thin curtains over the double doors.

"Oh gosh, there you are! I didn't know where you went, and I just woke up, and, and, you were gone, and I couldn't find you and I didn't know what to do and--"

"We were just out front. On watch." Fang thankfully cut her off.

"Oh. Well--"

"I'm hungry!" Gazzy announced loudly.

"Well I guess I'm up, since nobody can speak _softly_ so the blind guy with _sensitive_ _ears_ can get a little _SLEEP_!"

"Okay, okay, ill one," Gazzy mumbled.

"I heard that, feather head."

"Shut up, Strawberry."

"Goose."

WTF? Who knows how those two decided what names to call each other when they were having one of their everyday bickers.

"Sounds like an old married couple," Fang noted, walking over toward the dusty kitchen pantry, hunting for canned goods. Both of them glared at him as smirked at them.

Angel rose, yawning silently with Total and Celeste in her arms, coming over to give me a big hug and a sloppy kiss.

Fang handed out cans of Ravioli as we all sat in a tight circle.

"Any new plans?" Iggy asked.

"Arizona," I answered between bites.

"Why there?" Nudge asked.

"Well, you remember my ah...detour on our way to the School?"

She nodded.

"When Max wanted to play Supergirl and she got a bullet to the wing because of it?"

I glared at Fang. "Well, the girl's name is Ella, and she lives in Arizona with her mom. She's the one who found my chip, and I think we can rest up there for just a little while. It's just, I know we can trust them and they'll accept us...as us."

I didn't tell them that when I daydreamed of a perfect family, that was who it included.

"You mean, she won't mind our wings?" Nudge asked.

I smiled. "Nope."

We cleaned up as best we could, then took off. Fang said it seemed to him that we were on the Texas/Louisiana line, so we headed west. We jumped on a strong southwesterly current, and rode it for about three days. Pretty great. Pretty relaxing, too. I kept waiting for Iggy to tense up, and inform us two seconds ahead of time before Ari and his posse showed up. But (gasp), they never did. I almost couldn't believe it.

I expected to hear my voice kick in and say something annoyingly similar to what the average person would find on a fortune cookie; something like: Keep up your guard Max, Save the world Max, but don't fight the flow, go with the flow. Go with the flow. Ha! Okay. That last part, that I can do.

"Please tell me you know where you're going." Fang sidled up beside me, a smirk on his face.

"Yes, smart one, I know where I'm going. I'd better, because I'm pretty sure you don't."

"Bet I could still find it before you, Supergirl."

"Ohhh, you're getting a big head now, aren't you? Surprise, surprise," I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. "& that's Superwoman to you, sir. How much you want to bet that I'll get there first? Seeing as, well, I'm the only one that's ever actually been."

"Twenty cheesburgers."

"And fries."

"You're on, Maximum."

A warm shiver traveled down my spine. Which I ignored. Geez, get it together.

"We're just inside the Arizona line, aren't we?" I asked Fang.

"Mmhm. But I'm not helping you anymore from this point on." He smirked in my direction.

"Help? Ha." I snorted, rolling my eyes as he laughed at me.

& then I had to drop altitude about four feet so he wouldn't see my face, flushed red at the sound.

God, what is wrong with me?

A/N: Everyone _did _understand the lighter part, right? I likeeee this chapter  Tell me if you do too.

Opening lyrics: from "Black Balloon" by The Goo Goo Dolls.


	7. Drumroll

I'm passing away on to the  
better life  
I'm passing away on  
To the better  
I'm about to see just how far I can fly,  
Surely your gonna break my fall  
I'm about to run as fast as I can,  
Head long into that wall  
This time I'm passing away on to the  
better life.

Chapter 7

I know this sounds freaky, but I can like, smell where I'm going when I get close to it.

Really weird, yes. I almost hate admitting it because I sound like a dog on a trail. Let's add more animals to my bird-kid mix, shall we?

Anyway, I knew we were close. I remembered the big woods, the cliff edges, stuff like that.

& to my horror, my stomach twisted in little knots.

I had fought off erasers so many times it wasn't even funny.

They didn't even faze me anymore.

I could stare Jeb in the face, the man who had pretty much betrayed the Flock & I, and (almost) not feel anything but pure hatred.

I could fly right up to the School, the Institute, Itex; any of them, feeling nothing but total determination.

But coming up on a fully human mother and daughter, who had been nothing but kind to me, I was...

nervous?

Ugh. I seriously need to get these emotions in check.

Fang silently hovered beside me. I gazed down at the small tan house I had kept tucked in my memory for almost a year.

"This it?"

"Mmhm."

"Looks like you found it first, Superwoman." His face curved into a crooked half-smile that made my already racing heart threaten to jump out of my chest. I tried to smile, but I only managed a pained look.

He rubbed my shoulders lightly. "Don't worry." He replied so softly I barely heard him.

I let out a heavy breath. "Let's go gang. Stay behind me." Nudge tapped the back of Iggy's hand lightly. I prayed Angel wasn't reading my mind right now.

We dropped down until I felt my feet brush the grass. I turned to look over my shoulder: Nudge had grabbed Iggy's hand, whether it was to guide him or for her own reassurance, I couldn't tell.

Gazzy held his shoulders back, chin up, trying to look older and mature. The brave face he always put on when he was scared to death.

Angel's eyes gave her away as she looked up at me.

And Fang, well, he looked like Fang. Bold, brave, unaffected by anything, and always at my side.

I took a step forward and raised my hand to knock on the deep brown door.

A/N: I forgot to tell you in the last chapter, but remember the dreams Max has. All of them.

I know this chapter is SUPER short, but I'm posting the next one tomorrow. _Promise._

Opening lyrics: from "The Better Life" by Three Doors Down


	8. A Better Life

There's a song that's inside of my soul

it's the one that I've tried

to write over and over again

I'm awake in the infinite cold

would you sing to me over

and over

and over again?

So I lay my head back down

And I lift my hands and pray

to be only yours

I pray

to be only yours

I know now

you're my **only hope.**

Chapter 8 

The moment that passed seemed to be hours in length. Until finally, I watched the doorknob turn, and my breath caught in my throat. A girl, a few inches shorter than me, with dark brown hair & eyes, stood in the doorway.

It was Ella. She gave me a weird look, which made me double check myself to see if my wings were safely tucked tight against my back. Or, I thought in horror, what if she'd forgotten me?

"Max? _Max_...oh my...is that really you?!" I gave a small smile. "Ella?" Her grin split from ear to ear. "MOM!" she yelled over her shoulder. "Mom, oh my GOD! You won't believe this; come _HERE_!" She practically leaped at me then, throwing me into a huge bear-hug. "Max, I can't believe you came back! Oh my...I've missed you SO much! I can't believe you're here!" She grabbed my hand, pulling me in the house. "Come in, come in!" I looked back at my flock, motioning with my head that they follow. As we walked in, Ms. Martinez came into view. She gasped. "Max! You're here!" She too covered me in a tight hug, and to my total dismay, I fought back tears. After I was released, I noticed Ella glance over my shoulder. They must not have noticed the flock until now. I watched Nudge give a small, tentative smile as she caught Ella's eye. "Were these the, ah, friends you had to meet?" Ms. Martinez asked me as she smiled at Angel. I gave a small laugh, looking back at my flock. "I guess you could say that. Friends would be an understatement. Actually, they're my family. My only family." "Can you all…?" She began tentatively.

Iggy drew out his large tawny wings. Ella's eyes grew wide in awe, not fear. I saw Angel's little white wings unfolding, then Nudge and Gazzy following suit. I turned back to look at Fang. He met my gaze, then slowly pulled out his dark, massive wings.

"Oh my," I heard Dr. Martinez whisper.

"He and Max are the same age. But she's our leader."

Dr. Martinez's eyes flickered down to Angel. I cleared my throat, thinking of how to explain this gently. I might as well do it now.

"Ah, she reads minds." So much for flowery.

"Literally." Iggy added.

Dr. Martinez blinked in Fang-style astonishment. "Why don't we all go have a seat in the living room? I know I need one."

We entered the cozy living room, where Dr. Martinez immediately fell into a recliner. I sat down on a blue couch as Iggy proceeded to keep right on walking, towards the wall. I grabbed a belt loop of his jeans and pulled him gently beside me on the couch. He scowled at himself as the Gasman plopped down beside him. Fang sat on the love seat with Angel, and Nudge found a seat on the floor beside Ella.

Suddenly a muffled voice broke the short silence. "Hey, I'm STILL in here you know! My breathing hole is getting smaller, and you're squashing me!"

Total. Fang unzipped his backpack and lifted the small black dog out onto the floor. He shook himself, found Angel, and trotted over to her. "Thank you."

"You don't mind dogs, do you ma'am?" Angel asked sweetly, looking up at Dr. Martinez.

She shook her head slightly, then replied rather slowly, "No...n-not at all dear."

Ella cocked her head to one side, her eyes absolutely huge. Which I could totally understand, remembering my reaction to the fact that Total could talk.

Dr. Martinez looked around the room before speaking again. "Now, ah, Max...would you introduce us to everyone?"

She hadn't changed a bit, I noticed with glad relief. Six kids with wings and a talking dog had just waltzed through her front door, and she was sitting here with us like we were company invited over for afternoon tea.

I took a deep breath. "I guess I'll start from the beginning. We can all fly, as you saw. And like Angel, we all have, er, powers, I guess you could call them. But they're all different and totally random. Okay, this is Nudge," I began, motioning to her place at my feet. "She's eleven, and can receive past information from places and things through leftover vibrations."

I could tell they didn't exactly understand this, so Nudge took it upon herself to show off.

"You sat where Max was yesterday, didn't you?" she asked Dr. Martinez. "You're a vet. And you…" Her eyes closed briefly, and her face formed a slightly confused look. "You were thinking about Max and how she was doing."

Dr. Martinez stared at her. "Yes, yes I was." She looked back up at me. "Ella asked could we make cookies again, and I thought of you. I just think it's amazing that now you're here…" She trailed off, tears brimming her eyelids. My heart caught in my chest for a moment, and I realized how glad I was to be back here again.

"Ah…that's Fang." I continued, and his dark eyes found my face. "He's fourteen, like me, and, well…we think he can take pain away. We're not sure from whom, or exactly how it works and all, but he can."

Great explanation, Max.

"This is Iggy," I went on, gesturing beside me. "He's fourteen, and—"

"Blind," he interrupted, slight irritation in his low voice.

Ella looked up towards him as her eyes widened. "Seriously? That's amazing."

"What is?"

"That you're blind, and you can fly at the same time. You don't act like it. I would never be able to tell; the way you walk around like everyone else…that's really amazing." She repeated.

He snorted. "Not really. Especially not having to be led around like a cripple." The almost-running-into-the-wall incident must have set a serious dent in his pride.

"But he has, like, super-sonic hearing." Nudge added.

"Yeah, I'm a freaking bat."

What was wrong with him? I slipped my arm between the couch cushions and discretely pinched him on the leg.

"Ah," I continued awkwardly, "he's freakishly awesome with fire, bombs, anything dangerous."

He smiled lightly at that. Finally.

"I'm the only one that can cook worth crap."

"He can tell any of us apart by just touching our skin or feathers," Gazzy added. "He got all the good powers." Iggy smirked.

My mood now a little lighter, I continued. "And this is the Gasman." Dr. Martinez cocked an eyebrow slightly.

"I also go by Captain Terror."

"No, you go by Gazzy," I argued. "But yeah, that's his real name. Don't ask why. It's not worth it."

She laughed, now looking at over at him.

"He's eight, and can imitate any voice or sound."

Which he took as a cue to repeat that sentence, in my voice.

Ella spun around fully. "Oh my God."

Which he also repeated.

She squealed.

He squealed.

"Stop it!" Nudge replied. Gazzy did this on a regular basis.

"Stop it!"

"Ugghhh!"

Before he could continue this copy-cat game any further, I looked over at him, giving him a look that said 'seriously, stop it now.'

"And last, but not least, is Angel." I smiled. "She's six, and as you've already seen, can read minds. She can also breathe underwater and talk to fish."

By now, I think I could have said she could raise the dead and our small audience wouldn't have uttered a sound. They were permanently in awe of us.

"And, that's my flock," I finished with a small sigh.

Total cleared his throat. Oh, boy.

"Excuse me. How could I forget?" I went on sarcastically. "This is our dog, Total. Angel found him in New York. And well, he talks."

"He can jump really high too," Gazzy added.

Total smiled to himself as Ella shook her head slowly in disbelief.

"Max, you forgot Celeste!" Angel said, pulling the bear out of her backpack. I heard Iggy chuckle softly beside me.

"Oh, I'm sorry sweetie. Why don't you introduce her?"

"Well," she began in her soft, angelic voice. "This is my bear, Celeste. I asked a nice lady to buy her for me at a big, big toy store in New York City. She's my best friend in the whole wide world. I love her so much, but not as much as Max. And she has wings too! Just like me. One time the Erasers took her from me, but I made them give her back." She grinned at Dr. Martinez and Ella.

I couldn't help but laugh at her total happiness.

Okay, now for the fun part.

Asking for a place to stay. I really, really wasn't looking forward to this. I mean, it would only be for a couple of days but--

"Max," Dr. Martinez said softly, interrupting my thoughts. "You know you are all welcome to stay here as long as you like."

Well, that was easy. I almost yelped in relief. And joy, of course.

A huge grin escaped across my face. "I...really?"

"You want us to stay?" Nudge asked softly.

"Of course!" Ella replied, almost yelling. I looked around at my flock, smiling. My heart melted to mush as I saw their faces. Gazzy was trying to contain his excitement, but he was failing fast. Angel and Nudge were literally jumping up and down with joy; Total's nub tail thumped happily against the carpet. Iggy had a look in his sightless blue eyes that made me want to laugh and cry at the same time. And Fang, well, even he had smile in his eyes. He met my gaze, and I looked away quickly, overwhelmed with happiness. Finally, we were all wanted somewhere.

A/N: I hate this format. I don't WANT everything to be in double space! Ugh. Oh well. & to Dragonology, YES you should remember them all:) Maybe it's foreshadowing...maybe not.

Maybe you should keep reading & find out! Hahahaha. I'm so evil.

Not.

I'm working on chapter titles for 1-8 as we speak, & they may or may not foreshadow as well. I wouldn't know, because I haven't come up with them yet...

AND btw, I just thought of a new ff idea today, so keep an eye out for it. I'm thinking about calling it "Down Feathers."

Opening lyrics: from "Only Hope" by Switchfoot.


	9. Positions

Did you **find** what you're looking for?  
Did you get your foot in the door?  
Can you look at yourself and feel **proud** of all the things you've done?  
Did you inspire the ones that you knew?  
Make a difference to those who knew you?  
Did you finally figure out what it is that makes us **who we are today**?  
Don't **waste** another day  
You never know when you'll get one  
Don't waste another day  
To do anything you **haven't** done.

A/N: Sorry the last chapter was so confusing. I'm still working through some bugs and whatnot. I _really_ appreciate all of you who've supported me/reviewed so far. Thank you so much.

I've got about a week of school left before exams, and then I'm home free! Until senoir year, that is. Blegh. Oh well. Summer's just around the bend, which means fast updates! Yay! Haha. I'll stop now. Oh and btw, those who read my input on the MR couples forum thread;

hint-hint this is the chapter for you ;)

Chapter 9 

"So, ahm, what you usually do for dinner?" Dr. Martinez asked us. Gazzy's blonde head perked up, naturally, at the mention of food. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Fang smirk.

"Well, if we're in a hotel or an old house or something, Iggy'll cook. But usually we…well I guess we eat whatever we can scrounge up," I answered.

I noticed it was probably around the average person's dinner time; you know where the family sits around the normal kitchen table, eating a normal, hot meal that a normal mother fixed for her husband and 2.4 children.

Pssht. Like a word such as "normal" had ever entered the long list of words to describe me.

Thankfully, Dr. Martinez didn't dwell on the fact that we'd all been dumpster diving before, and she motioned us all into the kitchen.

"Does everyone like fish?" she asked. I almost burst out laughing. When you're a bird kid on the run, you learn to like whatever food comes into view. There isn't anything we don't like.

Almost.

Six bird kid heads bobbed simultaneously.

"How much do you have?" Of course, I knew Gazzy would have to ask that. I shot him a look that said 'be thankful you're getting food and don't ask about your share.' Yes, I can send that in a look. I grew up with Fang, remember?

Dr. Martinez laughed. "Don't worry; I remember Max's huge appetite very well. My father works in a wharf off the coast of Texas, so our freezer is stocked with tilapia and catfish year round."

She stepped outside to a large freezer in the garage, and then returned with a huge mess of fish. Pulling out a large frying pan, she started on the meal. Ella jumped up from her barstool to help.

I felt a finger barely brush the back of my hand. Iggy leaned forward, and whispered in my ear, "Do you think they'd mind if I helped?"

I shook my head, "Go ahead."

He stepped up to the counter, taking a fish from Dr. Martinez. Ella smiled and started up conversation with him.

Fang tugged on my elbow and motioned towards the back door with his head. I waited until Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel had fallen into the conversation and taken seats at the counter before I followed him outside.

We walked to the end of the small back porch before he spoke.

"Have you told them?"

"About us? No. They didn't even know there were six of us."

"They don't know about the School?"

"Nope."

"Erasers?"

"Nope. All they knew was that I could fly. And that I had people waiting for me. Dr. Martinez only asked once, and I told her that I couldn't say. She never asked again."

"Do you want to tell them?"

I paused for a minute, shrugged my shoulders. "I don't know. Should I?"

"That's your call, captain."

I rolled my eyes. "Would I get an earful from the co-pilot later if I did tell them?"

"Co-pilot? I must be special if I'm second in command to you," he replied sarcastically, with a small smile. "No, you wouldn't."

I sighed. "I don't want to do this alone, though."

"You won't have to."

"When should I do it?"

"They're not stupid; somebody'll ask sooner or later. Let them come to you."

I nodded, letting out a deep breath.

"What is it?"

I shrugged. Somehow, in some way that I could never put a finger on, Fang always knew if something was up with me.

"Nothing," I answered. "I should be excited about being here, and I am…it's just…I don't know. I guess I'm waiting for something bad to happen."

"We've only been here for about an hour, Max."

"I know."

"Relax. Take the world off your shoulders for a minute," he replied, rubbing my shoulders lightly before turning to walk back into the house.

I heard laughter from inside, Iggy and Ella's voices prominently.

Relax? I hadn't so much as heard from the Voice since my last brain attack, and that was very vague. What about Erasers? We weren't far from the School at _all_. It had been over 24 hours. Nothing weird/bad/eerie/harmful/all of the above had happened extremely recently. I think the only thing I could do was worry.

But as hard as it was, I took Fang's advice.

Who knows what had happened to the Voice, the Erasers, all of it? The world really _could_ wait.

I pulled the door open and was slammed in the face by the delicious aroma of frying fish. Iggy was standing in front of the stove, his face positioned straight ahead. Ella's gaze drifted between the cooking fish and his face. After a second or two, he felt around lightly for a spatula and turned three golden brown fish over in the pan.

"And you're doing all this by hearing alone?" Dr. Martinez asked, examining the fish.

He nodded. "It takes practice." She laughed.

Of course, the meal was scrumptious, between Iggy and Dr. Martinez we were in for a treat. Eight bodies sat around the kitchen table, stuffed to the brim. Even Total groaned at Angel's feet.

We decided on sleeping on a pallet in Ella's bedroom, since the guest room I had slept in before was full of "junk," and I figured Ella would like some company. Actually, I was pretty sure of it when she ditched her own bed to join us on the floor.

I couldn't help but notice how elated she was that we were here. I know sometimes when Nudge is talking on turbo drive for hours on end, or when Gazzy starts a fight between Iggy and Fang because of some voice-throwing trick, or when Angel tries to con me into doing something she wants by controlling my mind, I wish, just a tiny bit, that I was alone, just me, myself, and I. But I see Ella, just she and her mom, & I know it must get lonely. Sure she has her privacy, her quiet, no one to have to look after, no fights to break up or fires to put out, but then again, I'd probably be bored without five bird kids (and a dog) to look after.

We crashed early and hard. And surprisingly, the only real dreams I remember were one of those light, weightless dreams where I'm strolling through a field of wildflowers. You know, the dopey shampoo commercial type. When I opened my eyes, I realized I was curled up against someone's torso, because I could feel my head rising and falling with their breathing. I slowly unfolded myself, looking up.

It was Fang.

_WTF_? We had fallen asleep on opposite ends of this pile last night, so how did we end up in the middle of it, right beside each other? Turning my head slowly, I saw that no one else was awake. Total was curled up beside Angel, who was sleeping in the crook of Gazzy's arm. His back was pressed against Nudge's, and she was balled up next to Iggy. But he, I noticed with a smile, had an arm draped over Ella. She looked completely content, which confirmed my thoughts that maybe this was a good idea to stay here, after all.

I started to get up, but realized that if I did, I would wake everyone else.

Well, so much for that. The only thing I could do was lay back down against Fang.

I mean, who was watching? No one would notice. I did end up here on accident. It's not like I would purposely move over to sleep next to Fang or anything. I mean, really.

So I lay my head back down, my face pressed into the warmth of his shirt. Everyone was squished so tightly together that we were pretty much right on top of each other. We were definitely going to have to make some different arrangements for tomorrow night.

I felt him shift above me, his arm absentmindedly sliding farther down my back.

I lifted my head again, looking for his face. When I found it, I realized his eyes were half open, full of sleep.

"Needed a security blanket again, huh?"

I looked at him sourly. "Look, I don't know how we ended up here, but I laid down over there, not next to you, sir."

He laughed softly, pulling his arm off of me. "Just stay here, you'll wake everyone else if you move."

"Yeah, I know."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Great, actually. You?"

He nodded. "No bad dreams?"

"I thought you wouldn't have to ask."

"Just making sure."

I chuckled lightly, laying my head back down. I shivered; his arm had been warm on my back, and Angel had, of course, stolen all the covers.

Fang gently tugged the fleece blanket off of he and Iggy's legs and tossed it over me.

"Better?"

"Yeah. Thanks."

"Get some sleep. You need it."

Without argument, I nodded off again.

Opening lyrics: from "Did You" by Hoobastank.


	10. Night Fright

You carry too much on your shoulders  
I can't wait till you let me down  
Cause the only thing we're getting is older  
This time never comes back around  
It just goes away

It goes away  
And it only hurts when you cry  
I'm only sad when there's tears in your eyes  
I can't lie and say **I'm fine**  
But it only hurts when you _cry._

Chapter 10 

The next thing I remember, I was standing in front of Fang, demanding answers. You know how sometimes you know what's been going on, even if you can't remember experiencing it? That's what was happening, evidently.

"Just don't worry about it, Max. It's better off this way."

"Huh? What are you talking about? Wait, where are you going?" I asked as he slung his pack over his shoulder. I tried to look him in the eyes, thinking that I could find some true meaning there.

"I don't know. But don't worry about that. Just think of the flock."

"I _am_ thinking of the flock. We all need you Fang."

Especially me.

"What good am I?" He fired back. "My 'skill' is crap anyways; all I do is drag you all down. All the School really wants is _you_ Max, & they'll use whoever they can around you to get what they want. I'm just another burden. You'll be so much better off without me. Remember what you said? I'm just the co-pilot. & you're smart enough to fly on your own without me."

And with that, he turned and walked away from me. From us. From everything.

His black wings unfurled and took him away, maybe forever.

Who knew?

And all I could do was stand there and watch. My hands slid up over my face as a slow, sharp hole formed in my chest. Every time I tried to pull in a breath, it came as a gasp, as if my chest cavity had been pulled out. I wrapped one arm around my waist, trying to hold myself together.

"_Why_? Fang, don't do this. Please, _please_ don't do this." I repeated it over and over, as if that would bring him back. I sank to my knees, feeling everything slowly crash around me.

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I felt a strong hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me at first, then more firmly. "Max. Max?"

My eyes flickered open. I saw a ring of colors around me: black, red, dark brown, blonde, dark brown, and blonde. Five bird kids and Ella stood over me.

Fang had his hand on my shoulder, his voice soft in my ear. "Max, what's wrong? Is it your head?" He put his hand on the back of my head, already preparing to take my pain.

"No." I sat up quickly, looking at him.

He was here. I wanted to smile in relief, but I remembered that too much might chase him away again. "Did you come back?" I didn't get it. I could still feel that gaping hole in my chest. I wrapped my arm around it again, squeezing myself back together.

"What are you talking about?"

I stared at him again. He just stared back. Then realization (and total embarrassment) hit, and I decided to just keep my mouth shut. I vaguely heard Dr. Martinez call for breakfast, so thankfully, everyone got up to go eat.

All but one, of course.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I was too embarrassed to admit it, and what Fang didn't know wouldn't hurt him. Or my pride.

"What's wrong?"

"Shouldn't you know?"

"I wasn't awake. I just felt you shaking when I woke up. The only thing I could see was you. Now what's wrong?"

I kept my mouth shut.

Silence.

"Max."

More silence. After all, I learn from the best.

----------

"_Maximum_."

"Yes, _father_?" I finally answered snidely.

"Yeah, you're definitely acting like a child."

He knew that would make me mad. "If it was _important_, I would _tell_ you, don't you think? It was just a stupid dream. It wasn't about the flock, or the School, or Erasers, or anything of superior importance, okay? Just drop it."

He waited for a second. Then he spoke again; his voice quiet. "It must be important."

"Oh really? Why?" I fired back.

"You're crying."

I noticed the lump in my throat, the hot tears streaming down my cheeks. My already red face now turned a shade of burgundy.

Before I could drop my head, Fang put a hand on either side of my face. He gently brushed under my eyes with his thumbs to remove the tears.

And I let him. I was already crumbling in total mortification anyway.

"Are you gonna tell me what happened, or do I have to drag it out of you?"

I sighed; shrugged. "Do I have to?"

"Yeah. At least tell me what it was about."

I paused, then just went with it. "You."

His dark eyebrows moved a fraction of an inch. "Me? What about me?" Slight anger flashed across his eyes. He was afraid he had hurt me.

Which, in all actuality, he had.

"You left. You said it wasn't worth it. That it didn't make sense for you to stick around because all the School wanted was me. And that I'd be better off alone." I breathed again, squeezing my chest to do so. The hole was still there.

He shook his head. "That's why you're so worked up?"

I didn't answer, only let my head drop.

"Max, I'm not going anywhere."

"I know."

"Then what's wrong?"

I stood up, avoiding the already awkward situation.

And of course, he jumped on his feet. I started to walk towards the door anyway, but he wrapped one arm around my waist, and set me back down on the floor as if I was a small child.

Which usually, would piss me off. But right now, I was still too numb to care.

"Stop. And talk. Tell me what's wrong."

I seriously considered trying the silent treatment again. Lord knows he had done it to me millions of times.

But something about Fang always made me crack.

"It was _too_ real. I never thought you'd leave. But then you were just standing there, like it was all for the best."

"I'm not going anywhere." I finally met his eyes, saw the anger there.

I nodded.

"You don't believe me, do you?"

"Yeah, I do."

"No, you don't."

"I will later."

I tried, unsuccessfully, to leave again.

"Max, I'm not going anywhere," he repeated. He ran a hand through his hair, looking away. "I don't know how to prove it to you, but I'm not."

We both remained silent for a moment, then he spoke again.

"Why did it bother you so much?"

_Ughh_. I shrugged. "Why would I want you to leave? You're my best friend."

"But don't you think you could make it without me?"

My head shot up. "What do you mean? And why does it matter?"

He held up his hands. "I'm just asking, okay? I'm _not_ going anywhere, for the millionth time. I'm just wondering why you would think I would want to leave."

Awkward pause. "You never did answer, though."

"Well, I guess so. It would...it would be hard, but I guess I could."

"Max? Fang? You're missing out on Iggy's pancakes!" Nudge.

"C'mon." Fang got to his feet, then held out a hand to help me to mine.

"I'll drop it," he promised. I tried to give him a smile.

"Thanks."

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

**A/N: **hehehehehe. You thought I'd cut it short there, didn't you? I'm not _that_ hateful.

I'm also trying to get out of the bad habit of typing '&'s instead of 'and's. But they're easy to miss, so if you catch any, I'm sorry. I just noticed one while I was typing this. Hahaha. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. ;)

Random fact that none of you may care about --- I have four more days of school left! Weee! (not including two exams days. But still...weeee!)

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

I usually try to come up with some secret meaning behind all my opening lyrics, but I got lazy with this one, as you can see. Oh well, it's still a good song, nonetheless.

Opening lyrics: from "When you Cry" by Vertical Horizon


	11. Invisible Wings

Yeah, I'm looking to the sky to _save me_

Looking for a sign of life

Looking for something to help me burn out right

I'm looking for a complication

Looking 'cause I'm _tired of trying_

Make my way back home

**And I learn to fly**.

Come with me

I can't quite make it alone;

I'm trying to make this life my own.

_Fly along with me_

I can't quite make it alone.

Trying to make this life my own.

Chapter Eleven

**A/N**: I'm trying different POVs with this one. I've got Max's, Iggy's, and Ella's POVs. I'm not coming out and labeling "MAX POV" for each separate section; I'm doing it more James Patterson style. Iggy and Ella's POVs are in third person, but you're getting their thoughts and feelings that you (obviously) don't get from Max's POV.

Fang kept his promise as we ate breakfast among Ella, Dr. Martinez, and the rest of the Flock.

Dr. Martinez refused to let us help clean up the kitchen; she insisted that we run along outside. Which, of course, was fine by us.

We collaborated out into the open front yard. Nudge, Gazzy, and Angel set off to playing a game of air freeze tag, in which much cheating was involved. Iggy and Ella stood together under a small group of trees, talking. I spread my wings so the sun could warm them, and stretched out on my stomach. It was no Adirondack chair by the giant Anne Walker pond, but, you know what? Everyone was happy.

The younger kids had open air to go wild in, Iggy seemed to have found a new friend, and even Total had taken an interest in Magnolia, the Martinez's dachshund.

I heard a soft rustle beside me as Fang lowered his body down onto the grass. He lay on his back, looking up at the sun.

"Working on a tan?" He asked after a short silence.

I chuckled softly. "Yeah, I guess so."

"You okay?"

"Mmhm."

"I'm working on it," he added, so low that I barely heard him.

"Fang…" I began, cutting him eyes. But he held up a hand, and I knew nothing I could say would convince him that I honestly _did_ trust him. He'd have to find out on his own.

--------------------------------------------------------

Iggy leaned back against the tree casually in a position he knew Fang took all the time, looking cool. He was sure he looked like a fool now, but hey, it was worth a try. He listened to Ella talk about how she and Max met. Her voice flowed like velvet; the words smooth and soft. He sensed the tiniest twinge of an accent here or there. He knew right away he'd like listening to her; she was easy on the ears.

"I'm babbling, aren't I?" Her voice suddenly came to a halt.

"No, not at all. I promise," he replied, trying to get her talking again. He felt the skepticism in her silence.

"Honest. I know babbling. Just wait until you have to live around Nudge for a few days. It'll teach you patience, if nothing else. You can_not_ shut her up."

She laughed, which sounded even better.

"It must be nice," she murmured.

"What?"

"Having a family. I mean, no authority, no school, just each other. It must be wonderful. Not to mention the wings," she added.

He let out a hard laugh. "Sure, it's nice not to have anyone besides Max to answer to. And yeah, I love the Flock. I love 'em a _lot_. More…well, more than my life, actually. We've gone our separate ways before, but I came running back ASAP. I couldn't take it. Max was right when she said it took all six of us to make the flock whole."

He brought his sightless eyes up from the ground to where he believed her face to be, watching him as she listened.

He wished he could look her in the eyes.

"But never knowing where you're going to sleep at night, what you're going to eat—or _if_ you're going to eat—when you're getting attacked next; I'd give that up any day."

"Would you give up your wings to be in my shoes?" she asked.

"If I was with the Flock…" he paused, "Yeah, I would. Definitely."

She stayed silent for a moment, and then continued, "I don't get it. I'd give _anything_ just to be able to rise up from this."

A smile tugged at the corners of Iggy's mouth. Silently, he reached out slowly for her hand. When he found it, he gently pulled her to the left of where they'd been standing, towards what felt like the middle of the large yard. He roughly knew the landscape from Gazzy's explanation yesterday. When he stopped, he placed his hands on her shoulders and made a ninety-degree turn to the right.

"We're facing the drop-off, right?"

The Martinez home sat about fifty yards away from a sharp ledge jutting away from the mountain.

"And we're about, say, thirty feet away from it, right?"

She answered yes to both, and Iggy took a deep breath. "Okay, this is going to sound _totally_ crazy. I mean, psycho. But if you want to do this, just trust me." As far as he knew, she didn't have a clue as to what he was involving her in.

"When I say so, run as fast as you possibly can—straight ahead. When you get to the edge, hold your arms out like this," he lifted her arms up, straight out, "and _jump._"

He expected hear a sharp intake of breath; a rebuttal. But she just calmly replied an 'okay,' letting her arms fall back down to her sides. He stepped back behind her, then leaned up to speak quietly into her ear. "Just trust me, okay?"

"I do trust you, Iggy."

"Why?"

-------------------------------------------------------

I could definitely get used to this. Birds singing, cool grass on my face, warm sum on my back; safe flock around me.

And the Mr. Rogers moment was, of course, shattered when Fang scrambled to his feet from beside me, cursing under his breath.

"What the hell is he _doing?_"

I jumped to my feet just in time to see Ella, barreling full speed toward the God-knows-how-many thousand foot drop like her life depended on it. I looked around frantically for Iggy, who had just been talking to her moments before. He was standing directly behind where she was running, facing her direction.

Just _standing there._

I mean, yeah, he's blind. But he can hear a girl running full-on in front of him. He could probably tell how far it was until she hit the edge of that cliff, too.

And he was just _standing there._

What was he doing to Ella earlier, convincing her she had invisible wings?

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iggy felt the tiny trickle of sweat work its way down his back as he broke off into a run straight ahead of him. He could hear her footsteps up a couple feet ahead.

He was crazy for asking her to do this.

He could already hear Max whaling on him when this little escapade was over.

But he couldn't help but want to cure that hint of loneliness he caught in her voice; hear her laughter again. Maybe this would but a smile on her face, even if he couldn't see it.

He sped up as the footsteps stopped; uttering a silent prayer that he had timed this right as he heard the sound of a girl leaping into the open air.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

"_Ella!_"

She heard Max screaming her name as she stretched her arms out wide, like wings. She crouched, closed her eyes, and jumped over the edge.

She didn't know why she was doing this, jumping of a cliff like a psycho. Something about him made it seem like a perfectly plausible idea.

As soon as her body left the ground, she felt something solid collide with her. Iggy's long, thin arms wrapped tightly around her waist, and she heard his wings unfurl as she was lifted higher, higher. His face pressed against the side of her head, and he let out a heavy breath; his heart thumping wildly against her back.

"Open your eyes," he breathed into her ear, as if he already knew she had kept them shut.

And she did.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Iggy felt her hands tighten on his forearms; her breath come in a gasp.

"You okay?" he asked. "You're not afraid of heights, are you?" He hadn't thought of that.

"Oh, o-oh, n-no. No, I'm not," she stammered out. He held her close to him; their legs dangling downward together.

"What do you see? Gazzy never told me what it looked like," he asked her. Iggy felt her facial muscles soften against his cheek.

"It's…it's _beautiful._ I've lived here for almost four years, and I've never realized how beautiful it is here."

She described all the colors, landforms, and other unique sights to him. Iggy smiled to himself as she talked.

Then, he anxiously started to ask the question bouncing around in his head the whole time.

But before he could get the words out, Ella reached for one of his hands.

He tightened his remaining right arm around her as she lifted his hand to her face so he could feel the smile there.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fang and I had torn off toward the steep ledge just as I saw Iggy—finally—breaking out of his trance and running toward Ella.

As soon as I started to open my wings, Fang stopped running and held up an arm to hold me back.

"Wait."

"What? Why?! She jumping off a freaking—"

"Look."

Frustrated at his ignorance, I snapped my head around.

She was flying. Iggy had told her to run so he could catch her.

I wondered vaguely how she was convinced to jump off a _cliff _so a _blind_ guy whom she met _yesterday_ could catch her.

But I pushed the thoughts aside, watching her let Iggy feel the smile on her face.

A weird feeling crept up my spine as I saw a faint pink tint creep across his cheeks when his thumb slid over the dimple in her left cheek.

I looked over at Fang, who had one of those smug smirks on his face.

"You gonna give him a stern talking-to?" he asked me as we watched the pair swoop in the morning sunlight.

I shrugged. "I ought to. He scared the living snot out of me. She did, too."

Fang chuckled, as only Fang can chuckle. "C'mon. Let's go." He gestured toward the open air, and I followed.

---------------------------------------------------------------------

**A/N**: My mom has two dimples, and my dad doesn't have any. Therefore, my seven-month-old little brother and I ended up with one. Both on our left cheeks. Random fact that explains why Ella has only one dimple on her left cheek.

Mush city for the past two/three chapters, I know. But take heed, the plot thickens as we speak ;) You never know what could lie ahead for the Flock.

Opening lyrics: from "Learn to Fly" by Foo Fighters


End file.
